Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers

“But I do know myself. My dad, Fraser, taught me to work hard, laugh often, and keep my word. My mom, Marian, showed me how to think for myself and to use my voice. Together, in our cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago, they helped me see the value in our story, in my story, in the larger story of our country.”

Michelle encapsulates the essence of her memoir by reflecting on the foundational lessons from her parents and The Role of Family in shaping her identity and worldview. She highlights how her parents instill in her the values of hard work, resilience, and self-expression, which are central to her journey from a modest upbringing to becoming the First Lady. The emphasis on the importance of personal stories—her own, her family’s, and the broader narrative of America—illustrates her belief in the power of storytelling as a means of understanding and connecting with others. Michelle uses this reflection to set the tone for the memoir, indicating that the book is not just a record of events, but a deeper exploration of the values and experiences that define her.

“The sound of people trying, however, became the soundtrack to our life. There was plinking in the afternoons, plinking in the evenings. Ladies from church sometimes came over to practice hymns. Under Robbie’s rules, kids who took piano lessons were allowed to work on only one song at a time. From my room, I’d listen to them attempting, note by uncertain note, to win her approval, graduating from ‘Hot Cross Buns’ to ‘Brahms’s Lullaby,’ but only after many tries. The music was never annoying; it was just persistent.”

Michelle uses the persistent sound of piano practice as a metaphor for the broader values of effort, perseverance, and gradual progress that define her early life. The “plinking” represents not just the literal sound of children learning music, but also the continuous and often arduous process of striving for improvement, a recurring motif in her